And then there was color

My spiritual director encouraged me to paint as another expression of my connection to God.  It took quite a while before I could get comfortable with this process, but now I find the work to be very joyful.

Before beginning each painting I surrender all of myself to God (body, mind, spirit, emotions, will, intellect, imagination, subconscious, and whatever else of me there is) and ask God to say to me whatever God wishes through the painting.

I ask to be able to tell God what is deep inside myself through the painting. I use my non-dominant hand to finger paint, with the hope of letting go even further any perceived control I may have. And I lose myself.  It is a process of non-thinking, non-verbal, emotional, authentic expression in which the colors choose themselves.

I am often surprised at what appears on the paper.  It is being and doing with God.

Flowers of God’s love

I like to say that people are flowers of God’s love. Like every flower, each person is unique and beautiful. Each is a physical revelation of God, the source of all goodness and life. In this painting, the marks flying around represent that our goodness touches the lives of many other people, in ways we recognize and in ways we do not.